On may 1st, I was hired as a driver at the H&M TransportatioN, To run the Southeast region. Was promised 3000 miles per week and home on weekends.
After 90 days, a raise and a new truck. Well, in the past 120 days, i have had two or three paychecks in the 1000 to 1100 range. Received the raise after 90 days, been promised a new truck for the past 2 1/2 months, only to find out that they are not new but used, and still have not received one. I have been driving a truck for 26 years now OTR, and I know the trucks. IF something goes wrong, I tell them, but they don't fix them. The miles they promised are not there, and when i do have a load coming home for my weekend off, i have to show legally arriving on sunday morning, but yet showing leaving for my monday delivery on saturday.
You can't do this, this way, therefore i have no weekends off. Was asked if i could take a plane up to Newark, new jersey to retrieve one of their trucks and trailer. I delivered the load, reloaded the trailer and returned it to the Tampa, Fla yard. I told them 2 days ahead of time on the way back to Tampa, what the truck needed, as far as repairs, and wrote up the truck on their paper for the shop, the main problem was engine over heating. No body in the shop or office saw the truck nor did any of the repairs get done. That night, a dispatcher, who knew about the truck, sent someone else out in the truck back to new jersey.
Without looking at it or fixing it, and said nothing to the new driver. I personally have been told, by the safety dept in the shop, that they like me, because, I check the levels in the truck and I report to them and tell them the problems with the truck. Where the other drivers do not do that. Now, about the money, I pick up a load like in Chicago, and bring it to Tampa for a monday delivery, I have the trailer in Tampa in their yard, saturday morning. My job is done, a local man will deliver it monday. Now again, they won't pay me for the load I have done. And they say it is a hold over and they won't pay me until the following week. Meaning, they will not pay me until they get their money. Which is not right. I did my job and i expect to get paid for the work I have done.
The owner of the company said to me, as much as I pay you drivers, you should have the money with you to pay scale tickets, all and any tolls, and whatever else needs to get paid with cash, to be reimbursed at a later date. At first, its not my truck, and the money I make on my check, has to go toward my bills. Therefore when I ask for a comchek for tolls and or scales, they should not read me the riot act. They give me a hard time when I ask for money to run their truck. One example would be: told to hurry to pick up a load, where you can reach the shipper, within one hour of using a toll road. If it is not a forced toll road and there is another way that takes 3 hours to get there, they would prefer to have you take the longer way, to save on toll roads. But then they don't pay you for the extra miles. There are places where you have to go where you can't get there by airplane. You can't go the same way as an airplane.
IF they hand you a map via the computer, which is directions and how many miles, or give you the phone # which they normally do to a broker, and they give you directions on how to get there, and how many miles, then the company comes up with awhole lot less miles to pay me. They don't pay you for what they said they would pay you. One example again: the shortest possible route could be 1150 miles, they might pay you for 1035 miles. They do it everytime. They are ripping me and all the other drivers off. The owners says things and then later on denys it. Or, tells office personel, that he has made certain statements to drivers, with indeed he has never talked to them. Whenever you pickup or deliver a load they demand the paperwork be faxed to them within one hour or they get mad. Sometimes you can't do that and they get hostile. Thet demand that you have a cell phone but 90% of the time, they put you on hold, and they won't pay for your time on the phone.
I can't afford their holds. As of a result of the above, my bill collectors are crying up a storm, after being promised one thing and seeing another. It just doesn't cut it. A week ago my better half, when to pick up my paycheck on a saturday morning, 4 other drivers were complaining about their paychecks. They now at this moment have two dispatchers, who have openly admitted to me, they know nothing about trucks. What part do i not understand about this.
Where does the problem lie, not with me. They also have given the worst trucks to drive. I went to the yard one day, a man jumped out of a brand new truck, eating a bowl of cereal. Said he had only been with the company one month, and had never driven a truck before in his life. Excuse me, with numerous safety awards to my credit, and 26 years in this business, where have I gone wrong? Why is it that I don't rate. I try to avoid truck stops, and troubled areas, never any accidents, never any dope or drugs, or alcohol problems. As a matter of fact never ever any dope or drugs, will hardly ever eat aspirin and totally quit drinking all types of alcohol, 8 months ago. Again, I ask, where is the problem? I try to help shippers and receivers on the loads, as much as possible.
I feel I go up and beyond the call of duty and there is also the small thing on my license called "safe Driver". I pushed myself, i guess to points other people wouldn't do. To pick up and deliver the loads. They expect the truth from me and I expect the truth from them. I am fed up with the lies and the promises made to me and they aren't happening. If this will help others, please let it be known. When I tell them it is 70 miles per hour, the front end of the truck is jumping around like it is gonna fall apart, then don't tell me that when you drove it around the block, that there is really no problem with the front end. Like driving up to thirty five miles per hour doesn't work. I am totally fed up to the point i do not know what to do anymore.
Thank you Sincerely;
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